Etymograph

English

devour

Devour comes from Old French devorer ‘to devour’, and goes back to Latin vorō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorō1‘to devour’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvorō1‘to swallow, gulp down, or devour’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devorer1‘to devour’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devouren1‘to devour or eat up’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611devour1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English devour
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If ye refuse[…]ye shall be devoured with the sword.”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorōWiktionary, English devour‘to devour’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvorōWiktionary, English devour‘to swallow, gulp down, or devour’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400devorerWiktionary, English devour‘to devour’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devourenWiktionary, English devour‘to devour or eat up’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611devourWiktionary, English devour. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If ye refuse[…]ye shall be devoured with the sword.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- ‘to devour’

gorge, quirk, gurgle, ouroboros, 24 more

through Latin vorō ‘to devour’

voracious, herbivorous, 15 more

Today it means

verb To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “devour”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin vorō / devour

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